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THE BIG GOOSE AND 
THE LITTLE HEN 



Big Goose lived in a tumble-down house . 




































































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AND TH 



E LITTLE HEN 



WRITTEN BY J. LYON WOODRUFF 

\\ 

AND PICTURED BY 
ETHEL S. VERNON 


ALBERT^WHITMAN 
& 4 CO- 

CHICAGO 


c I13Z 


•Wt!62 

3L 


Copyright, 1932 

Albert Whitman & Co., Chicago, U. S. A. 


Printed in the U. S. A. 


_ OCT 22 i332 

©CIA 56641 


THE BIG GOOSE AND 
THE LITTLE HEN 

IG GOOSE lived in a tumble- 
down house in a hollow near 
one of the big city’s neg¬ 
lected streets. There were 
weeds in the front and in the back of 
the house. They grew as tall as young 



[ 7 ] 








BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 

trees and were covered with clinging 
vines which crept over the ground and 
climbed up their stalks to get to the 
sunlight. 

When Big Goose forced his way- 
through this dense underbrush he 
liked to make believe he was walking 
through a jungle or among the trees 
in a cool, green forest. 

There was no pond near his house. 
So for days and often weeks Big 
Goose could use only his pan of drink¬ 
ing water in order to moisten his 
feathers as much as possible. But 
when the clouds gathered in the sky 
and the thunder rolled so that it shook 
the house, Big Goose ran quickly to 


[ 8 ] 






Big Goose ran quickly to an open place . 


















BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 


an open place in his jungle of weeds 
and waited for the coming of the wel¬ 
come rain. 

How good he felt when the first 
big drops began to strike pit-a-pat, 
pit-a-pat on his broad back. When 
puddles formed in the hollow places, 
what fun it was to wade through 
them and pretend to swim in the 
larger ones. Those were happy days 
for him—days when he could remem¬ 
ber the freedom he used to have be¬ 
fore he came to this small place where 
he now lived. 

Big Goose did not have the little 
house all to himself. Red Rooster 
with his family had lived there a long 


[ 10 ] 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 

time before Big Goose came. He was 
a fierce old fellow with a hoarse voice 
that scared Big Goose when he first 
heard it. 

When Big Goose first came to this 
house he tried to make friends with 
Red Rooster. 



[ii] 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 

“Good morning, sir,” he honked to 
him very politely, “I hope you are 
feeling well this beautiful morning.” 

But Red Rooster would not answer 
him. He just gave him a wicked look 
and passed on. 

Big Goose was sorry he could not 
make friends with Red Rooster. But 
he was too proud to do anything 
more about it. So he stayed on his 
own side of the little house. 

He became very lonely and wished 
that the master in the big house would 
bring at least one other goose to keep 
him company, instead of adding all 
the time to Red Rooster’s large fam¬ 
ily. 


[12] 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 

The master in the big house had 
been wondering why there were not 
as many eggs as usual in the nests 
when he came around to gather them. 
He would say, 

“I wonder what is the matter? I can¬ 
not understand it. My chickens eat 
just as much as ever and seem to be 
just as healthy as ever. Why don’t 
they lay more eggs?” 

Finally he thought that perhaps a 
fox or some other wild animal crept 
in at night and stole the eggs. So, 
night after night, he set a good strong 
trap. But the only thing he ever 
caught was a skirt which the wind 
had blown off the clothes line. 


[13] 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 


Now all this time Red Rooster and 
his family knew what was the matter. 
Big Goose also knew and felt sorry 
for the man because he had been a 
kind master. One day he ran after his 
master and tried to tell him what was 
wrong. 



But when the master saw Big Goose 
running after him with his neck 
stretched out and quacking, “Honk, 


[14] 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 

honk, honk,” at the top of his voice, 
he thought Big Goose was trying to 
bite him. So he picked up a stone and 
drove Big Goose away; and told his 
wife that he would have to take that 
goose and put him in the cooking pot. 

This pleased Red Rooster very 
much. But when Big Goose heard it 
he said to himself, 

“Here I try to help my master and 
he does not understand me.” 

One nice, sunshiny morning while 
the master was again wondering what 
had happened to the eggs, to his great 
surprise a big fat hen with twelve 
fluffy little chicks came stepping out 
of the weeds. 


[15] 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 



While the master stared, out came 
another hen, then still another, with 
their fluffy little babies behind them. 
Now the master was not so sorry that 
there had not been as many eggs in 
the nests as usual. 

The weeds kept growing higher and 
higher and the little chicks kept grow¬ 
ing bigger and bigger until finally they 
began to wander off alone. Big Goose 
saw this and thought, 


[16] 


BIG, GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 

‘Til make friends with all of them, 
then I will be able to tell from their 
manners and the way they talk which 
one will like me most/’ 

But they were all afraid of him and 
although he spent days and days hunt¬ 
ing nice fat worms for them, he could 
not coax one near enough to make 
friends. 

There was a mystery about Big 
Goose which not even his master nor 
the man from whom he had bought 
him knew about. Because of this Big 
Goose could never be really happy. 
He always looked lonely. He was for¬ 
gotten by Red Rooster and his large 
family. 


[17] 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 



Then something happened which 
made Big Goose feel very happy and 
not lonely any more. One day he was 
walking through the weeds to reach 
his favorite spot where there was a 
little clearing. Suddenly he heard a 
strange noise that made him stop 
short. It sounded just like a baby 
playing with a rattle. 

He stepped very softly until he 
came to the edge of the clearing. 


[18] 



She was so frightened she could not move. 




































































































































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BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 

When he peeped through the weeds he 
saw a sight which scared him so that 
he hardly knew what to do. 

Right in the middle of the clearing 
was a queer looking snake with marks 
shaped like diamonds all over his 
body, and some strange objects, on the 
very tip of his tail that rattled every 
time he shook it. 

Right in front of the snake stood the 
nicest Little Hen that Big Goose had 
ever seen. She was so frightened that 
she could not move even an inch away 
from the black snake. 

Big Goose knew immediately what 
kind of a snake this one was and what 
would happen to Little Hen unless 


[ 21 ] 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 


something was done. In his old home 
he had often seen snakes like it. He 
knew they were called rattlesnakes 
and were very dangerous. 

Big Goose did not wait long to make 
up his mind. He flew right on top of 
the snake and caught him between the 
jaws of his big hard bill, shaking him 
until the snake was almost broken to 
pieces. 

Little Hen had watched with fright¬ 
ened eyes until the battle was over. 
Then she saw that her enemy could do 
her no more harm. When Big Goose 
had finished his fight he walked over 
toward her. 

Much to his surprise she did not run 


[ 22 ] 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 

away from him as all the other chick¬ 
ens had done, but she stood perfectly 
still until he came up close to her. 

Making his politest bow, Big Goose 
quacked, 

“Madam, you need not be afraid any 
more. The snake is dead and I am 
very glad that I was able to be of 
service to you.” 

He did not expect Little Hen to un¬ 
derstand what he had said. But imag¬ 
ine his surprise when she bowed nicely 
in return and clucked in a very sweet 
voice, 

“Sir, I don’t know how to thank you. 
You have saved my life and I shall 
never forget it.” 


[ 23 ] 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 



Here indeed was a great wonder—a 
chicken that understood his friendli¬ 
ness and was not afraid of him. Big 
Goose made friends at once with Lit¬ 
tle Hen. He was very happy when he 
realized that he could now have a 
friend to talk with. 

Big Goose was naturally curious to 


[ 24 ] 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 


know where Little Hen had come 
from, as he was certain she did not 
belong to Red Rooster’s family. When 
he finally asked her she became very 
sad and answered, 

“Sir, I am very sorry, but that is one 
thing I cannot tell you. If I told you 
I could not stay here any longer and 
you would never see me again.” 

Big Goose felt very sorry for Little 
Hen and said, 

“Please stay here and let me be 
your friend.” 

Then Little Hen was happy again 
and they walked away together as if 
they had known each other a long 
time. 


[ 25 ] 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 


That night Big Goose wondered if 
the mystery of the Little Hen could 
possibly be anything like the mystery 
in his own life. As sleep overcame 
him he felt very thankful for having 
found such a nice friend. 

Bright and early the next morning 
Red Rooster called his family to¬ 
gether in front of the house to count 
them. When he came to the end of the 
line there stood shy Little Hen. Red 
Rooster was very much surprised 
when he saw her. 

“Who are you?” he scolded. “You 
don’t belong here.” 

“Sir,” said Little Hen, “I am a friend 
of Big Goose.” 


[ 26 ] 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 



“Go away quickly then,” scolded 
Red Rooster, “you cannot stay here 
another minute,” whereupon he flew 
at Little Hen. 

Before she could say another word 
Big Goose came flying between them, 
his neck stretched far out and the 
feathers on his head standing straight 
up. 


[ 27 ] 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 

“Don’t you dare to talk like that to 
this lady,” he hissed at Red Rooster. 
“She will stay here just as long as she 
pleases and I will protect her.” 

Red Rooster saw that Big Goose 
was very angry and decided it would 
not be wise to go any further. So 
grumbling to himself he walked off 
with his tail drooping down to the 
ground. Big Goose had conquered 
him without a battle. 

From that day on Big Goose never 
feared Red Rooster again and he and 
Little Hen were very happy. 

Summer passed and winter came. 
The friendship between Big Goose and 
Little Hen grew stronger and strong- 


[ 28 ] 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 


er. When the mistress of the house 
threw out feed for the chickens, Big 
Goose was always on hand to see that 
Little Hen got her share. 

On very cold nights they would nest 
together in the straw in order to keep 
warm. Those were happy days for 
both of them. 

Big Goose’s master lived in a house 
very much below the level of the 
street. The only way people could 
reach it was by a flight of shaky 
wooden steps which were so far apart 
that as often as he tried, Big Goose 
could not climb them. Neither could 
he fly up because his master had 
clipped his wings. 


[ 29 ] 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 

Many changes had occurred in the 
big world since Big Goose first came 
to this house. At first most of the 
noises he had heard in the street 
above were caused by horses walking, 
trotting, and galloping along. These 
he could understand because he had 
often seen horses at his old home. 

Gradually as he listened from day to 
day the sound of horses’ hoofs grew 
less and less. Instead he heard queer, 
rumbling noises and barking horns 
such as he had never heard before. 
Even the headlights shining on the 
houses puzzled him very much. 

Early one spring morning he and 
Little Hen were talking about many 

[ 30 ] 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 


things, after having eaten a good 
breakfast of nice fat worms and 
greens. To their surprise they saw 
wagon after wagon drive to the edge 
of the street above them and unload 
dirt into the alley alongside the 
house. 

Pretty soon the master of the house 
came out. The two friends heard the 
drivers of the wagons tell the master 
that they were going to build a drive¬ 
way from the street to the alley, so 
that people could reach the next 
street. 

Big Goose was very much pleased 
when he heard this news. 

“At last,” he said to Little Hen, “we 


[ 31 ] 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 

shall be able to leave this yard and 
see what is going on in the world 
above us.” 

But Little Hen was not nearly so 
excited about it as Big Goose, for she 
feared to think of what might happen 
to Big Goose when he found his way 
to freedom. 

All day long, day after day, the 
wagons kept coming and emptying 
their loads. Little by little the dirt 
pile grew higher and higher until at 
last the top was level with the street. 
Soon after there was a nice, smooth 
road up which anybody could walk 
from the house to the street without 
any trouble. 


[ 32 ] 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 



Of course the very first to try the 
new road after the last workman had 
gone was Big Goose, with Little Hen 
stepping timidly along beside him. 

But they did not stay up there very 
long. Hardly had they reached the 
street when a great, giant animal 
with shining eyes as big as dinner 
plates came rushing toward them 


[ 33 ] 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 

with a big noise, scaring Big Goose 
and Little Hen so much that they fled 
back to the lower road. For neither 
had ever seen an automobile before. 

Big Goose was a very proud goose. 
He did not sleep much that night for 
thinking that Little Hen would now 
believe him to be a coward. So he 
made up his mind that the very next 
day he would travel up the road again 
and boldly defy that great animal. 

But the first thing that Big Goose 
saw the next morning scared him more 
than ever. There, standing in the 
yard was what looked like the very 
same animal he had seen yesterday. 
He almost returned to his little house, 


[ 34 ]' 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 

but remembering that he was not go¬ 
ing to be afraid he jumped in front of 
Little Hen, and, with head up proudly 
he stood watching his enemy. 

But nothing happened. The strange 
animal stood perfectly still and acted 
just as though it had never seen Big 
Goose before. Then to his surprise the 
animal’s side flew open and the little 
boy who lived in the master’s house 
came right out of its stomach. 

When he had caught a glimpse of the 
seat inside the animal, then Big Goose 
knew what the beast really was. 

“Why,” he honked to Little Hen, 
“that’s nothing but a new kind of car¬ 
riage which runs without horses!” 


[ 35 ] 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 

From then on Big Goose had no 
more fear of automobiles. After 
breakfast every morning he and Lit¬ 
tle Hen marched up the road to the 
street to see what was going on. 
Whenever a wagon passed by he 
would not even look at it. But when 
an automobile came along he would 
chase it furiously, honking at the top 
of his voice. 

Little Hen was scared every time 
he did this because she was afraid he 
would get hurt. So she talked with 
him and begged him to stop it, but Big 
Goose said, 

“I know it is foolish, but I just can¬ 
not help myself.” 


[ 36 ] 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 


This made Little Hen very unhappy. 
So she decided that the only thing she 
could do was to try to keep Big Goose 
from going up the road every day. 

When Big Goose was ready to start 
off the next morning Little Hen said 
to him, 

“Please let us stay at home today. 
I do not feel well today.” 

But Big Goose answered, 

“I am sorry, Little Hen. But I think 
a nice walk is just what you need to 
make you feel better.” 

Though Little Hen was very sorry 
that he would not give up the trip, 
she followed Big Goose as usual up 
the road. In spite of the clear blue 


[ 37 ] 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 


sky, the warm sunshine and the green 
carpet of grass in the yard, she felt 
very sad. 

Then happened the very thing which 
she had feared. Just as the two 
friends reached the upper street a big 
red automobile came rushing toward 
them sounding its horn. 

As usual Big Goose started to chase 
it, with Little Hen following and call¬ 
ing to him to come back. So eager was 
she to head him off that she ran right 
in front of the automobile. 

Big Goose immediately saw her dan¬ 
ger and without any thought of his 
own peril he jumped over Little Hen, 
giving her a hard push that threw her 


[ 38 ] 



Big Goose gave Little Hen a hard push. 




































BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 

clear of the wheels. When she had 
recovered she stood there trembling 
and hid her face under her wing to 
avoid seeing the end of her dearest 
friend. 

At this very instant the cruel wheels 
passed right over Big Goose and his 
feathers were scattered all about, 
some of them settling down on Little 
Hen. Then a strange thing happened. 

Little Hen was changed from a 
chicken into a lovely girl. She was 
all dressed in silk and satin, with a 
string of pure white pearls around 
her neck and a ribbon of shining gold 
around her beautiful brown hair. 

When she looked at the spot where 


[ 41 ] 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 


Big Goose had lain she saw standing 
there a beautiful young man dressed 
like a prince, and bearing a sword of 
the finest gold. 

This is the mystery of Big Goose 
and Little Hen. 



HEN 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE 

Long, long ago, a good king and 
queen ruled over the land of Happy- 
dell. They had only one child, a beau¬ 
tiful boy whom they loved so dearly 
that no matter what he did they could 
see nothing wrong in it. So of course 
he grew up to be a terribly spoiled 
young prince. 

This prince was very bright in his 
studies, but he could not keep from 
teasing the girls. One day while driv¬ 
ing his pony cart home from school he 
saw some girls walking ahead of him 
in the road and decided to have some 
fun at their expense. 

The girls were all dressed in their 
best clothes because they were going 


[ 43 ] 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 


to a birthday party. But the young 
prince did not care anything about 
that. 

The girls stepped off to one side to 
let him pass; but just as he caught up 
with them he whipped up his ponies 
and made them trot through a mud 
puddle, splashing the little girls’ 
clothes from head to foot. The girls 
cried bitterly, but the prince only 
laughed with cruel glee and passed on. 

The wicked prince soon learned that 
every evil deed is sure to be punished. 
For that night while lying asleep in 
his soft bed the good Queen Mab of 
the fairies suddenly appeared at his 
side. She had been peeping from be- 


[ 44 ] 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 

hind a tree when he was playing his 
trick on the little girls. Queen Mab 
waved her fairy wand over his bed, 
singing this song: 

God gave this earth to boys and girls, 

For happiness, and joy, and laughter; 

And he who all their pleasure spoils, 

Shall pay with grief and tears hereafter. 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 


So you, mean prince, with heart of stone, 
Shall be deprived of all your power; 
And in a lowly form atone 

For all the sweets you caused to sour. 

Arise and as a goose go forth, 

To wander friendless, sad and weary; 
From east to west, and south to north, 
Through endless ages, dark and dreary. 



[ 46 ] 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 


’Till well the lesson you have learned, 

That boys and girls should love each other; 

And blessings rare are only earned 

By treating each like friend or brother. 

In a strange and distant land, 

To prove your heart is kind and loving; 

Lay down your life without command, 

To save the one who shares your roving. 

And when the wheels of monster grim, 

Have brought to end your life of trouble; 

Arise and shed your goose’s skin, 

And be once more a prince most noble. 

This was how the boy prince became 
a Big Goose. Now let us learn about 
Little Hen. 

★ ★ ★ 

It so happened that one of the girls 
whom the prince spattered with mud 
saw Queen Mab watching them from 
behind the tree. This girl’s name was 


[ 47 ] 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 

Floraleen. She was a very good girl 
and a great friend of the fairies. 
They loved her very much and often 
invited her to be their guest when 
they had their dances in the moon¬ 
light. 

After drying her tears, Floraleen re¬ 
turned to her home and changed her 
dress to one that was not quite so 
pretty but Pice enough for the birth¬ 
day party. They all played the nicest 
games and danced to the sweetest 
music. They had wonderful things to 
eat—dainty sandwiches, cakes covered 
all over with lovely icing, all kinds of 
fruit, and more ice cream than any¬ 
body could eat. 


[ 48 ] 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 

Floraleen did not enjoy the party a 
bit. She was a very tender-hearted 
child and was thinking all the time of 
seeing Queen Mab behind that tree 
and wondering what the queen would 
do to punish the mean prince. She 
was angry with the prince but really 
did not want him to come to any harm. 

As soon as the party was over she 
ran all the way to the forest in search 
of the Fairy Queen. Though she 
looked here, there, and everywhere, 
not a trace of the fairy could she find 
in any of her usual places. 

The first thing that Floraleen heard 
the next morning was that the prince 
was missing and that all of the police 


[ 49 } 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 


and the whole army and navy were 
out searching or him. 

Then Floraleen cried as if her heart 
would break, for she knew that what 
she had feared had come to pass, and 
that the prince had met with some 
terrible punishment for his wicked¬ 
ness. 

It was a strict rule of the fairies 
that after a sentence of punishment 
had once been given it could never be 
taken back, no matter how earnestly 
some one might plead for it. So of 
course the Fairy Queen would never 
release the young prince. But far 
back in the darkest and gloomiest 


[ 50 ] 



Floraleen was standing at the door of the cottage. 



















































































































































BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 


part of the forest lived an old witch. 
She had once been a young and beau¬ 
tiful fairy, but had long been ban¬ 
ished because she had broken one of 
their most important laws. As she 



[ 53 ] 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 


could never do any good again, she 
spent her time planning ways to spoil 
the fairies’ good deeds. 

One of her ways was to cast a spell 
over any child who happened to be 
near her cottage. Floraleen had often 
been near it, but her mother and fa¬ 
ther had warned her and the witch 
was never able to get her to come 
inside. 

But now, filled with grief for what 
had happened to the prince, she 
thought of the old witch and wondered 
whether she would be able to do any¬ 
thing. Almost before she knew what 
she was doing, Floraleen was stand¬ 
ing at the door of the cottage with her 


[ 54 ] 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 

hand on the knocker. She was very 
much afraid. 

Just then the old witch came out 
with a very sweet smile on her face 
and looking so kind and gentle that 
the poor girl forgot her fears and re¬ 
mained. The witch invited her into 
the cabin, but Floraleen refused. Then 
the witch said, 

“Well, my dear, you need not come 
in if you do not want to. But sit with 
me here and tell me your troubles.” 

Her voice sounded so kind that 
Floraleen could hold back no longer. 
She burst into tears and then sitting 
by the witch’s side told her the sad 
story of the prince. 

[ 55 ] 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 


“My dear child/’ said the witch at 
the end of the story, “of course I will 
help you. You have come to just the 
right place, for I know all about the 
poor prince and what Queen Mab did 
with him.” 

Now this was not true, for the witch 
did not have the faintest idea of what 
had happened. But Floraleen’s heart 
was filled with joy when she heard the 
witch’s promise. 

Then the witch went to a large hole 
in the ground at the side of her cot¬ 
tage, threw in some dried leaves and 
twigs and started a good hot fire. 
Then she got a pair of shears and said 
to Floraleen, 


[ 56 ] 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 



“Now, my dear, if you will let me cut 
off a tiny lock of your hair I will bring 
the prince here before you can count 
one, two, three.” 

Fioraleen was very scared and would 
not consent to this. But the witch 
begged so hard and said that the 
prince was so unhappy that Fioraleen 
finally let her cut off a small lock. 

[ 57 } 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 

The witch threw the lock of hair into 
the fire and told Floraleen to kneel at 
the edge of the hole. Suddenly she 
waved her thin hands over the little 
girl’s head and chanted: 

Let milk-white skin now turn to brown, 

From crown of head to knee. 

Let plumage now replace your gown, 

And you a chicken be. 

Till big gray feathers falling low, 

In far and distant land, 

Shall settle on you at a blow, 

And a prince before you stand. 

Immediately the girl became a Lit¬ 
tle Hen. The witch with cruel glee got 
out her broom and drove Little Hen 
out of the forest to start on her trav¬ 
els into the world. 

★ ★ ★ 


[ 58 ] 



They decided they would return to Happydell. 
































































































-- 











BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 


There is not much more to be told. 
After the prince and Floraleen had 
talked everything over many times, 
they decided that they would return 
to their own country of Happydell. 
Everybody was very happy to see 
them once more and great parties 



[ 61 ] 


BIG GOOSE AND LITTLE HEN 

were held in their honor. For the 
prince had become as good as he was 
beautiful and Floraleen was even 
sweeter than she had been before. 
They lived out their lives together 
just as happily as when they were Big 
Goose and Little Hen. 



[ 62 ] 















































































































































































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